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Free speech is becoming increasingly difficult Cameroon.
in a decree On July 16, Emmanuel Mariel Gikedeng, the mayor of the Mfandi region, where the capital Yaounde is located, said that “anyone who commits dangerous insults against (state) institutions or those who represent them” may be banned from staying in the region. Gikedeng issued the order to “maintain public order.”
Two days later, Communications Minister René Emmanuel Saadi release A press release noted that it was “unacceptable for fellow citizens to use disrespectful language against President Paul Biya” who was “elected freely and overwhelmingly by his fellow citizens.”
The decree does raise concerns Media Professionals and Leader of the Opposition They criticized it as a rollback of free speech rights. The announcements are the latest in a series of troubling government decisions that appear aimed at suppressing the opposition and dissent ahead of the 2025 presidential election.
In March, Territorial Administration Minister Paul Atanga Nji prohibit The two opposition alliances called them an “underground movement”. In June, gendarmes in Ngaoundéré, Adamawa region, Arrested again Aboubacar Siddiki (aka Babajo), a well-known artist and member of the National Union for Democratic Progress (Union nationale pour la démocratie et le progrès), had just been released from prison after serving a three-month sentence for insulting the governor. passed a law extending the term of its members until March 2026, and put off Parliamentary elections are scheduled for February 2025; opposition debate That will make it harder for them to win presidential elections still scheduled for 2025. Incumbent President Paul Biya, 91, is serving his seventh term since taking office in 1982. He was last re-elected in 2018 in a disputed election. Initiation Wave of political repression
Under international human rights law, the right to freedom of expression can only be restricted on limited grounds, such as national security or to protect the rights of others, and even then, restrictions must be necessary, proportionate, and non-discriminatory. The zoning decree contains provisions that do not meet this standard and could be used to discriminately target critics and violate rights. With elections approaching, the authorities should fully respect the freedom of expression of all Cameroonians and revoke the decree.
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